The ABC Song Kalimba Tabs (17-Key)

The ABC Song kalimba tabs

For a 17-key kalimba tuned to C major. This tab is the whole song: 43 notes on 6 tines, from C4 up to A4.

newellabs.com/play/kalimba/tabs/abc/

Number tab

The number tab read aloud, one sentence per group. “High” stands for one dot above the number and “very high” for two. 1, 1, 5, 5. 6, 6, 5. 4, 4, 3, 3. 2, 2, 2, 2, 1. 5, 5, 4. 3, 3, 2. 5, 5, 5, 4. 3, 3, 2. 1, 1, 5, 5. 6, 6, 5. 4, 4, 3, 3. 2, 2, 1.

Letter notes

C₄C₄G₄G₄A₄A₄G₄F₄F₄E₄E₄D₄D₄D₄D₄C₄G₄G₄F₄E₄E₄D₄G₄G₄G₄F₄E₄E₄D₄C₄C₄G₄G₄A₄A₄G₄F₄F₄E₄E₄D₄D₄C₄

Tines you need

The long tine in the middle is 1 (C4). Notes climb outward, alternating left and right, so neighbours on the same side are two steps apart.

How to read this tab

Numbers are steps of the scale. 1 is C, 2 is D, up to 7 for B. A dot above a number means one octave higher; two dots, two octaves higher. The song starts 1 1 5 5 6 6 5 4 (C4 C4 G4 G4 A4 A4 G4 F4).
Gaps mark bars. Each group is one bar of music. The tab shows which tine to play, not how long to hold it; press Listen on the play-along page to hear the rhythm.
Other kalimbas. On an 8-, 10- or 21-key kalimba in C the numbers mean the same notes, as long as the tines you need are there.

About the song

Charles Bradlee copyrighted this song in Boston in 1835. It is sung to the same French tune as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. The melody is in the public domain.

Same tune, different rhythm: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star kalimba tabs.

About this tab

What it covers. Whole song: the letters, then the closing line.
Key. C major (as engraved).
Source. Transcribed from Wikipedia score of the alphabet song (first example). The alphabet setting is also in Davison and Surette, 140 Folk-Tunes (E. C. Schirmer, Boston, 1921), No. 1, where the letters from Q to Z are spaced differently.